The title of the email I received at 1:30 AM Central (I don’t sleep) was very ominous, it only read:
“Basketball Gods”
It had a link to a YouTube video (the one you should be watching above) and that was it. No opinion, no ranting, and no telling me how great I am (I am still waiting on that email). Just the link to the video.
So I go to watch the video, which is from April 17, 2009 and features clips from a regular season game against the Celtics and a quote from Ray Allen.
The Cavs are shown clowning around – and here is what Allen had to say:
“I’m always going to remember that”, Ray Allen said “If I beat a team as happy as I may be in victory. I’m always going to stay humble and always remember there is another day. We play each other too much, these are great motivational thoughts for me.”
If you follow me during the NFL season you know I am a big believer in the “Football Gods.”
In layman’s terms they keep the scales balanced. They favor the bold and punish the weak. The Football Gods love to dish out karma. I believe to this day the Football Gods are still punishing the Patriots for “Spygate” – letting them go 18-0 before losing the Super Bowl, Brady’s knee, missing playoffs after going 11-5, 4th and 2, Welker’s knee injury in meaningless game, etc.
Is it possible that the Basketball Gods are punishing the Cavs for being a bit to “giddy” from time to time?
I don’t think there is anything wrong with having fun, but twenty seconds into that video Mo Williams is reacting like he just found out Beyonce was leaving Jay-Z for him.
This is the same Mo Williams who in 2009 had one of the worst postseasons of any second fiddle in NBA history and when LeBron refused to talk to media, was left crying trying to explain what went wrong.
The Basketball Gods are in favor of being humble, especially if you never won anything. The Cavs take their cues from LeBron, so when LeBron acts like a kid, they act like kids.
The question begged is whether a “fun bunch” can win a NBA title?
Most championship teams have two things in common; they are no nonsense and have a stable coach whom the players respect.
The Cavs are a “fun bunch” with a coach no one respects in Mike Brown.
Mike Brown should know his team better than anyone, meaning he should know their flaws better than anyone.
But we all know the truth – LeBron James is the coach of the Cavaliers, which is why the Cavs are allowed to do some of the things they do. Do you think anyone is going to tell LeBron to stop dancing?
On the flip side – do you think Phil Jackson would let Shannon Brown go dance with the Laker Girls during a timeout? How about Greg Popovich?
The Cavs had the best team record in 2009 and lost to the Magic in a series almost everyone had them favored in.
The Cavs had the best team record in 2010 and are on the brink of being eliminated by the same team they are mocking in the video.
Coincidence, you tell me?
Game 6 will tell you a lot about LeBron and the LeBronettes.
It is easy to “Two Step” as a frontrunner; it is a lot harder to do after someone punches you in the mouth. I equate it to what happened to Floyd Mayweather, Jr. against Shane Mosley.
Floyd got rocked in the second round and was holding on for dear life (Game 5 of Cavs vs. Celtics); later in the round he was caught again, his knees buckled and it appeared he was on his way down (Game 6 of Cavs vs. Celtics).
Mayweather, who talks more trash than anyone in boxing and proclaims to be the best ever, had to make a decision to either back up the talk or to go down. Mayweather steadied himself and put on a brilliant performance on his way to another victory.
The Cavs are about to take that second punch and the question being raised is whether they’re just all talk (or dance, if you watch the video) or can back up their boasts.
I guess we will see Thursday night.